The Group 3 race produced an exhilarating finish with the spoils going to the six-year-old Mutasarref, trained by Ger Lyons and ridden by Colin Keane, with Aidan O’Brien’s second string, Mountain Bear, a fast-finishing runner-up and last year’s winner, Lord Massusus, only a head back in third.

Run over mile, the 2024 running of the Bahrain Turf Club Desmond Stakes attracted a competitive field, including the Group 1 winning filly, Ylang Ylang, for trainer Aidan O’Brien, and the up-and-coming and well-supported Galen, trained by Joseph O’Brien. However, it was the older Mutasarref who prevailed, despite carrying a penalty for an earlier Group 3 success in June, and in doing so he won his fourth race at Leopardstown.

Having enjoyed such a lengthy and consistent career, Mutasarref is a firm favourite with owner Eleanora Kennedy and she was on-course, together with the winning trainer Ger Lyons, to receive the trophy from the Bahrain Turf Club’s Director of Racing and International Relations, Ed Veale. Kennedy’s red and black colours are familiar to racegoers in Bahrain as her talented sprinter, Warrior Brave, has run in the last two editions of the Bahrain Turf Series.

Afterwards, trainer Ger Lyons said of Mutasarref and his win in the Bahrain Turf Club Desmond Stakes: “You would think the penalty will be enough to stop him but he just keeps doing things like that. Horses like him make you enjoy the game. The plan is to come back here (Leopardstown) for Irish Champions Festival and the Group 2 Boomerang Stakes.”

Irish Champions Festival is held on the 14th – 15th September and the highlight of the weekend is the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.

The Bahrain Turf Club’s sponsorship of the Desmond Stakes is part of a fruitful partnership announced with Leopardstown Racecourse in 2023. It includes the ‘Dublin to Bahrain’ race series and culminates with the Royal Bahrain Irish Champions Stakes.